543 
In summary, there is little evidence that the Soviet Union is attempt- 
ing to compete with the West in deep saturation diving. Rather, she 
appears to be developing diving capabilities responsive to her unique 
goals. The limited Soviet goal (nonmilitary) would appear to be to 
gradually develop a diving capability which will permit work down 
to but not substantially exceeding the 300 meter level. This level 
is compatable with most of the Soviet inland water and continental 
shelf areas which seldom exceed 200 meters in depth. At the same 
time, the Soviet Union will undoubtedly continue to attempt the 
purchase of Western diving technology in order to achieve these 
modest goals as quickly as possible. 
SUMMARY AND FORECAST 
Soviet submersible development, unimpressive by Western standards 
thus far, will probably receive increased emphasis during the 
remainder of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Two factors appear to be respon- 
sible for this trend. First, there has been rather outspoken internal 
criticism of the organization and administration of Soviet submersible 
development by high-ranking officals and designers who feel that the 
program has been inhibited by ill-conceived goals as well as diffuse 
and ineffective administration. It is possible that this criticism will 
lead to the more centralized and efficient planning of future submersi- 
ble designs and programs. Second, undersea exploration and the ulti- 
mate exploitation of various undersea resources is receiving increased 
emphasis in the Soviet Union which will obviate the development 
of sophisticated undersea hardware. Already the Soviet Union is 
purchasing foreign submersibles and those now under development 
will represent a considerable technological improvement over their 
predecessors. Technology transfer from West to East will probably 
continue to serve to expedite the attainment of future Soviet undersea 
research and development goals. 
Soviet undersea habitat and diving performance, always modest by 
Western standards, will probably remain so in the foreseeable future. 
The Soviet Union is developing at least one habitat and the associated 
diving capability to allow man to work in the open sea at depths 
of 100 meters or slightly more. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, this 
capability will probably be extended gradually down to 300 meters 
or slightly more. The capability to conduct habitat and diving opera- 
tions below the 200 meter level will effectively permit exploration 
of most of the Soviet continental shelf and inland sea areas. 
Finally, unmanned means of undersea exploration and resource ex- 
ploitation are receiving increased emphasis in the Soviet Union. Al- 
ready, Soviet unmanned undersea vehicles have had incorporated into 
them the same types of remote-control technologies and capabilities 
of unmanned lunar rovers of the “‘Lunokhod” series. Therefore, during 
the remainder of the 1970’s and the 1980’s, it is expected that more 
sophisticated unmanned vehicles or “‘robots’’ will be developed to 
carry out specific tasks in undersea environments where manned ac- 
tivities are either complicated or impossible. 
